Normal?

Do
you ever think something is normal just because it’s what you’ve
always done? Like you never realized that everyone doesn’t do
something the same way you do? For example…growing up my [Erin] mom
always used a sponge to wash the dishes so I assumed that everyone
used a sponge. Turns out a lot of people [including Drew’s mom] use
wash cloths. Ok that was a really small scale example, but you get
the idea. When you’re around things enough or when you do things a
certain way for enough time, it just becomes what you do; it
becomes normal.

As
much as I’ve been avoiding writing this blog about my “new normal”
[because everyone and their grandma writes this sometime on the Race
and I try to avoid cliche things at all costs], it’s time I face the
facts: What has become normal to me this year is not so normal in
normal life. Does that even make sense? Let me try and explain…

These
things are now normal to me:

Sleeping…well,
anywhere. Airport, bus station, floor, chair, etc. Forget
“somewhere to rest my head,” if it’s somewhere where my body can
be even slightly stationary, it’s called a bed.

Redefining
personal hygiene. If I get one cold river shower per week I’m in
a great mood [although I’ve been way more blessed than that for most
of this year]. If I get to brush my teeth once a day it’s like
blessings raining down from heaven. And if I put on clothes that have
minimal stains and only a faint odor, I feel like I’m actually
sitting at the right hand of God himself.

Reevaluating
“possible.” This past month God provided over $10,000 total
for some of my squad-mates so that none of them had to go home from
the Race early. A young couple [who didn’t know us at all] opened
their home to 35 of us – they had been trying to have a baby for
months with no success but 1 week after we prayed for their
generosity to us to turn into a blessing for them, they got pregnant.
Despite the thousands of miles that separate us from our families in
America, this year God has redeemed and restored several of my
squad-mates’ once broken relationships with their families. The list
could go on. What the world sees as impossible God sees [and I’m
starting to see] as something simple.

Being
thankful for our daily bread. We never really know what our next
meal will be – for the most part we just eat what’s given to us.
Brian once ate the seeds of a watermelon in an effort to fill himself
up. His excuse was, “I wasn’t sure what we’d be eating later.”
And where it’s coming from is
a guess as well…roadside stand, stranger’s house, cafe? And even as
picky of an eater as I am I have become incredibly grateful for each
and every meal…even if I have to choke it down.

Going
with the flow…to the max. I’m so flexible now I could be a
gymnast. Or maybe one of those contortionists who wedges themselves
inside a tiny box. God is definitely not on a program or a schedule,
so why are we? If our lame plans get ruined, it’s probably because
they were getting in the way of God’s divine plans. Quick – you
have 2 minutes to prepare to speak to this crowd about the love of
Christ! Go! Hurry – we need you to perform a song and a skit for
these schoolchildren in 5 minutes…er, seconds! Oh, ok. Sounds
great.

Having
a sixth sense for free wifi. And by a sixth sense I mean the urge
to ask these questions within 5 minutes of arriving at a new
destination: “So do you have internet here? Is it free?”

Being
full of life in all situations. The following scenario is close
to my heart because it is a perfect picture of our squad – just
something that would happen on a typical day: Some of our friends
put together “Christmas in September” on September 24^th
– exactly 3 months before Christmas Eve. They wanted us to
celebrate together since we won’t actually be together in December.
We all came dressed in tacky sweaters, drank Romanian hot chocolate,
and smiled at the paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Then as
we gathered around the piano and the Macbook Pro [our version of a
hymnal for the night] we all sang Christmas carols. And right before
the last verse of The Twelve Days of Christmas
the energy builds and someone [my awesome husband!] yells “Let’s
give it all we’ve got!” and we scream the remainder of the song.
Beautiful.

Believing.
In myself. In my teammates. In prayers. In the power that once
rose Jesus from the grave and now resides inside of me.